This project will explore the effect of Staphylococcus aureus delta toxin on specific ion transport across the intestinal mucosa. The manner by which delta toxin increases intestinal cAMP will be studied by measuring toxin effects on adenyl cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity. Whether delta toxin can increase cAMP activity of other tissues will be examined. The ability of fatty acids and phospholipids to alter toxin acitivity on intestinal mucosa will be examined. The distribution and possible degradation of S. aureus exfoliatin will be studied in mice and rabbits. Factors permitting multiplication of exfoliatin-producing staphylococci in subcutaneous tissue and in lungs will be evaluated. A search for other antigenic types of exfoliatin will be made. Studies will be instituted to determine whether the bacteriocidal mechanisms operative within staphylococcal abscesses are related to either the myeloperoxidase system or the cationic proteins found in neutrophils.